Political Weirdos

They're double plus good!

Sadly narcissism is not just inhuman confidence. Narcissists are emotionally incomplete. The above tweet is a pretty straightforward example of a narcissist's need for constant admiration, attention, and validation. He does not experience a functional form of confidence or have any inherent self-worth at all, and cannot function without a constant source of external validation.

It's not possible to be someone who never experiences self doubt. Some people experiment with drugs or alcohol for that, but it only papers over the ugly feelings rather than help with processing them. It's normal to struggle with insecurity. I found Iroh's wisdom helpful, despite it being from a cartoon - pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source.

Perhaps like me you've struggled to connect with others in that way. Ever since I was little I felt separate from my peers, and I gravitated to others who were aloof, or social pariahs. It... Didn't work out, and now I'm mostly alone again.

I don't think you post something like that for the world to see unless you're worried, maybe deep down, that people don't like you.

Yeah, this is narcissism. One is so insecure that they defensively convince themselves that the world revolves around them. Any self-reflection ends up so dissonant that it gets shut down immediately. It takes a really hard hit to knock the delusion aside, even temporarily.

Decades of practice in devaluing anyone you don't agree with makes it easy to jump to "anyone worth anything agrees that I'm the center of the universe."

Definitely the latter

Every relationship to him is transactional. Every single one. "Friends" to him just means people want things from him and they have to offer something in return.

Totally random thought, but did you know that it takes more energy to crush a can of soda than it does the cartilage of the human throat? Or that once broken, it can't be repaired? Crazy, right?

Anyway, I'd give him a hug if he wants.

Someone else would take his place, he's a symptom, not a cause

I couldn't believe it when I saw this yesterday. It's so hard to draw a bead on exactly who he is between his senility, drug-addled body and pathological lying but it's such a window into who he is; even though he's taken over the playground and all his friends are running the school like animal house, he can't even savor the enormity of the victory...he's just glad he found his favorite pencil he thought someone took.

The latter.

I think that's just what he thinks friendship is. Everything is transactional, no friendship is real.

art of the deal